Category: Ann Arbor Real Estate

Kathy Toth and Team REALTORS® announced the addition of a new member, John Price, to the Ann Arbor Real Estate Experts team.

“We are pleased to add another sales professional of John’s caliber to our team”, said CEO Kathy Toth. “John is extremely customer service oriented and his record of accomplishment in prior endeavors is highly applicable to this profession.”

John Price, a lifetime area resident, is a member of the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors and serves on the City of Saline Environmental Commission. John received an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law where he served as Title Editor of the Law Review.

“I am excited to be joining a dynamic team at Kathy Toth and Team, where customer service is our top priority. My only goal is to make sure our clients find the home they desire and make the transaction as smooth as possible,” said John.

Kathy Toth and Team have been serving Washtenaw County real estate including Dexter, Ann Arbor, Chelsea and Saline clients for over 25 years. They are among the top one percent of REALTORS® nationally and have been featured twice on House Hunters HGTV. Kathy can be heard on W4 Country Radio and works directly with listing and buyer representative partners towards exceeding client expectations while meeting their real estate purchase or sale objectives.

Kathy is an Associate Broker, Accredited Seller Representative, Certified Distressed Property Expert, and Certified Commercial Investment Member Candidate. To experience their website and to learn more about the team, please visit www.KathyToth.com, email info@kathytoth.com, or stop into their office at 3134 Baker Road, Dexter, Michigan.

Can you say Stunning wooded lot with views of Bridgeway lake on a private setting. Gleaming hardwood floors throughout the main living area. Updated Kitchen with all appliances and tiled floor and eating nook. Keep toasty warm with a brick fireplace with a high efficiency wood burning insert in the dining room / great room area. Large heated windowed sunroom with vaulted ceiling is great for some relaxation after a hard day at work. Walkout lower level has bedroom and full bath. There is plenty of room in the lower level for storage and also a work room. Three nice sized bedrooms on the main level with easy access to everything. This home is freshly painted and ready to move into. Updates includes: Interior Paint (2013), windows (2007), refinished wood floors (2007), water heater (2007) and kitchen (2005). This home is located in Loch Alpine and walking distance to Ann Arbor Country Club with easy access to golfing, swimming, dining and tennis. Don’t let this Ann Arbor Real Estate slip away, call for your private showing! Loch Alpine is hidden sub tucked away…This is a fine example of a Loch Alpine home for sale.

Was there any good news for Distressed Homeowners as we waited for politicians to avoid taking us over the Fiscal Cliff? Yes! The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was extended through December 2013. All of our Clients can breathe a sigh of relief. What does this mean to homeowners who are under water on their Principal Residence and thinking about listing their homes; and for those already under contract? Well, it means continue as planned and move forward.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was enacted on December 20, 2007. The Act was designed to help distressed homeowners find relief from cancelled debt. According to the www.IRS.gov website:

“If you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, the canceled amount may be taxable.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.”

What is Cancellation of Debt? | Is Cancellation of Debt income always taxable? | What is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007? | What does exclusion of income mean? | Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act apply to all forgiven or cancelled debts? | Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act apply to debt incurred to refinance a home? | If the forgiven debt is excluded from income, do I have to report it on my tax return?

There are many more questions and answers regarding the Debt Relief Act that apply to individuals each with their own circumstances so when it comes to the Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation individuals should consult a tax consultant and an attorney.

He asks me about the Ann Arbor Real Estate market and tips on getting the best deal or selling for the most money.

I have been working with Brian for 8 years and want to congratulate him on 10 years with this station. He makes the job easy for me. I say that he is like a good dance partner. He leads and I just follow. When we get together, it is like I am just talking to a friend and there is no one else in the room (except 150,000 listeners in the Ann Arbor Area).

At this point we have become friends and am amazed by the work that he does for the community and the personal appearance hours he puts in. His schedule rivals the interns and REALTORS!

I am very grateful for many things in my life and feel blessed to know Brian Cowan. Others who have been good friends include Lori, Fanny and the other 2 Brians at Cumulus. My long time friend Matt Wagner helps with ideas and execution and net working with other peers in the Radio and Television Network.

We at the Toth Team hope the listeners, our family of clients, and friends have a Merry Christmas. Regardless of the Season, friendship is one of the greatest treasures on earth.

When Ann Arbor REALTOR® Kathy Toth began using videos to provide information about neighborhoods and homes in

Number one Ashley

Ann Arbor and Dexter, she had no idea how popular those videos would become. Now, over 100 videos and over 80,600 views later, www.AnnArborRealEstate.tv breaks ground as a video-centric website. The new site is a convenient resource for anyone who would like an instant tour of area neighborhoods.

Neighborhood videos and video home listings are increasingly popular, thanks to mobile technology trends and consumer preferences for visual information. “There is nothing more immediate than video,” says Kathy Toth, who has been selling real estate since 1989. She adds, “Quality is everything in a video. We present neighborhoods and homes professionally, which benefits the viewer as well as the client.”

To create high-quality videos, Toth enlisted the help of a local video production firm, Mixed Media, to produce full-motion video tours of popular Ann Arbor and Dexter subdivisions. Many of the videos offer a drive through the neighborhood, providing true-to-life street tours, as well as views of local parks and home interiors.

Toth’s clients love being able to discover a neighborhood this way, “It’s convenient, saves gas and truly gives us enough of a peek into a subdivision to determine if the area warrants further consideration” states Pat Strabbing Toth’s Ann Arbor buyer client.

Mixed Media and The Kathy Toth Team have been working together on the video projects throughout the last year. To date, they have completed over 100 Ann Arbor area neighborhood videos, with more likely to come. Before proceeding with the project, both parties knew that in order for the videos to be beneficial, the quality would have to be a cut above what is customarily seen on YouTube.

Toth explains, “Up until now, REALTORS® have commonly used basic photo slideshows to showcase the neighborhoods they service. With the growing popularity of video, Ann Arbor area home buyers are expecting successful REALTORS® to utilize the most advanced technology in their marketing plans.”
“The clearest trend in real estate video marketing is towards quality and away from user-generated content. People serious about finding a real estate practitioner or selling their homes look for agents that market themselves and their properties with the utmost professionalism,” said Christian Sterner, co-founder of WellcomeMat. “Video is a highly effective communication tool, but that is where user-generated content should end. As real estate marketers, it is not enough to just do video: it must be done with class.”

The success of the videos led to the need for a one-stop website, where viewers could easily select from the neighborhoods that interested them. For this project, Toth turned to Shane Pendley at Parus Solution Marketing. The result was an innovative website containing very few words, relying instead on robust video content. The site quickly evolved to include informative videos for home buying, selling, and short sales, featuring Toth delivering expert tips and advice.

Being a top-producing Associate Broker, Toth is always eager to provide cutting edge services to her clients. Adding professional video was a natural fit to her growing menu of client services. To view videos featuring Ann Arbor and Dexter neighborhoods, visit Kathy Toth & Team’s new video website at www.AnnArborRealEstate.tv. For more information about Kathy Toth & Team and their array of client services, visit www.KathyToth.com.

Kathy Toth & Team have been serving Washtenaw County real estate including Dexter, Ann Arbor, Chelsea and Saline clients for over 20 years. They are among the top one percent of REALTORS® nationally and have been featured twice on House Hunters HGTV. Toth works directly with listing and buyer representative partners, with a goal of exceeding her client’s expectations while meeting their real estate purchase or sale objectives.

Beautiful sought after ranch end unit in the Arbors 1,315 sq. ft. of comfortable living space with additional 750 sp ft in the finished daylight windowed lower level. Too many cooks spoil the broth? Not in this remodeled kitchen! You get both style and efficiency, with plenty of room for everything. With an adjoining dining room and cathedral ceiling great room with gas fireplace this space will surely be the heart of the home. The master bedroom suite opens up with a cathedral ceiling and door to the outside deck. The other bath and first floor is serviced by a full bath. The finished lower level with 3 daylight windows is complete with a third bedroom (study or exercise room) and family room and storage space. The two-car attached garage provides shelter for your cars as well as additional storage space. The complex has a pool, cabana, pond, fountain, and tennis court. Monthly association fee includes water, building insurance, and all outdoor maintenance, Ann Arbor Township taxes. Call today to schedule a showing of this beautiful Ann Arbor Real Estate!

This Ann Arbor Township home is a rare gem and is Professionally Remodeled with attention to every detail. You will enjoy the hand scraped maple floors in the foyer ( with custom built storage cabinets ) and connecting rooms. Let your inner Top Chef out in this custom center island gourmet kitchen with bamboo cabinetry, concrete counters, Jenn Air built-in appliances (including a six burner gas range), and wine chiller refrigerator. This home is great for entertaining with open living room connecting to the dining area along with a cozy hearth room with gas fireplace and large multi-flex room with skylights. A private study is away from teh hustle and bustle of this vibrant home. Upstairs has four bedrooms including a master bedroom with walk-in closet and private bath. You will enjoy the beautiful views of trees and the wild life from the large deck that can be accessed from the hearth room and multi-flex room. Don’t miss out on this unique Ann Arbor Real Estate.

Interest rates at favorable levels and a good selection of homes provide an opportunity for Ann Arbor Area buyers. Here are a few things to for buyers to keep in mind:

1. Know what you can afford before you fall in love with your dream home.

2. Consider additional expenses that come with owning a home like property tax, insurance, and repairs.

3. Be flexible on the little things. It would be wonderful to find a home with everything you want, but those are hard to come by – distinguish nice-to-haves and must-haves early.

4. Have imagination and look beyond paint colors, wallpaper, or other easy and affordable things you can change.

5. Don’t compromise on the big things, such as enough bedrooms to accommodate additions to the family or space for an office if you work from home.

6. Always inspect even if the surface looks great; it’s important to know if anything major is wrong and what it will cost to fix.

7. Think about the future in regard to the neighborhoods, surroundings, schools, and developments. Be sure to check out our Ann Arbor Area neighborhoods with videos.

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Currently there are 375 Active Listings in just Ann Arbor alone. They range in price from $55,900 to $2,500,000. This is a perfect buyer’s market with low interest rates. Don’t rent when you can buy!

Meet the Kathy Toth and Team Buyer Agents. These professional REALTORS are available to help you find your Area dream home. To purchase a home in Ann Arbor or the surrounding real estate market, contact one of the Kathy Toth and Team Accredited Buyer’s Representatives. Marcia White, Linda Woodard or Michael Dailey will take you through the entire buying process from beginning to end providing expert assistance every step of the way.

Marcia White – Associate Broker — An Accredited Buyer’s representative in the business since 1984, Marcia has experience ranging from an escrow closing officer to a broker owner with an international franchise. She excels at utilizing this wealth of knowledge helping people fulfill their dreams of home ownership. Phone: (734) 395-8983

Linda Woodard – Associate Broker – An Accredited Buyer’s Representative with 15 years in the business, Linda specializes in helping our buyers realize their real estate goals. Linda’s knowledge of the market and needs of the people she works with makes her your greatest advocate. Phone: (734) 216-6804

For further information on Buyer Representation contact the Kathy Toth and Team Members at 734-669-0337

I got this question the other day and wanted to share it with you. “How do I find the right real estate agent for me?” Here’s my response:

1. When searching for a real estate agent, it’s important to find one who appreciates and understands the type of transactions you will engage. When approaching potential agents, explain to them that if you are an investor, your business model is based on a high number of transactions closing on a yearly basis or if you are buyng one home that you will need personalized attention.

2. It is important to find an agent that has the right mindset to work on all types of transactions. If an agent does not understand financing and investing, you will most likely have issues working with this agent in the future. It will be critical to find high energy, open-minded people who are interested in learning or experiencing different aspects of real estate.

3. When hiring an agent to represent you in a transaction, consider that you’re going to use their knowledge of the real estate market. It is their skill and experience that will benefit you and the goals of transactions in your business.

4. Of all the homes they list, what percent sell?

5. What are homes selling for in the market compared to their results ( LP/SP ratio).

6. How many days on market do their sales take vs. the average?

7. Be sure to spend some time discussing your goals and expectations with the agent. The more they can learn about your process, system, timing you wish to focus on, the faster they can provide you with opportunities to review and or place offers.

To summarize, having an excellent real estate expert on your team can benefit your real estate business significantly. The more they understand your business, the better they can support its growth and your ability to earn a substantial income in this market. There is no replacement for an excellent reputation and experience. This is priceless!

For your current and the most comprehensive Ann Arbor Area Real Estate market information including absorption rates for Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter and Salineclick here . Keep up-to-date on your local neighborhood and have the report sent directly to your email inbox.